1. Technological Field
This invention is generally concerned with electronic equipment racks and related systems and devices. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to card guides and card guide systems for removably retaining electronic modules within an electronic equipment rack.
2. Related Technology
Electronic equipment enclosures are used in a number of different industries and applications and generally serve to receive one or more pieces of electronic equipment and devices in such a way that the individual electronic components can operably interact with each other and/or with the electronic equipment enclosure. In some instances, such electronic equipment enclosures are configured to permit the use of one or more “plug-in” functional modules that electrically and mechanically interface with the electronic equipment enclosure and/or with other functional modules.
More specifically, many electronic equipment enclosures include a chassis within which is disposed an internal structure configured to removably receive one or more functional modules in a desired arrangement. Such internal structures are often referred to as “card cages.” The card cage is configured so that a user can define the functionality of the electronic equipment enclosure by selecting particular functional modules to be employed in the electronic equipment enclosure. In the event that it is desired to modify the functionality of a particular electronic equipment enclosure, such changes can be made simply by positioning additional functional modules in the card cage of the electronic equipment enclosure and/or by removing selected functional modules from the card cage of the electronic equipment enclosure.
Although card cages and their constituent elements enhance the flexibility and functionality of the associated electronic equipment enclosure, various problems nonetheless remain with conventional card cage systems, and especially card guides. Some exemplary problems relate to the fact that conventional card guides are typically retained in position within the chassis through the use of fasteners such as screws, pins, or bolts.
In particular, each card guide may require several fasteners in order to ensure that the card guide is securely positioned within the chassis. Moreover, because the card guide must be connected to different parts of the chassis structure, various types and sizes of fasteners may be required to install a single card guide. Thus, conventional card guides and related systems are often quite complicated and time-consuming to install. This aspect, at least, of conventional card cage systems tends to detract from the flexibility that the card cage otherwise lends to the electronic equipment rack, since the use of multiple and different fasteners makes it rather difficult to readily reconfigure the card cage should the need arise.
A related concern with conventional card guides relates to the fact that the use of multiple fasteners to attach a card guide to the chassis necessarily requires that the card guide and the chassis each define complementary screw holes or similar openings into which the fastener must be inserted. This arrangement is problematic at least because it is often difficult to ensure that the various screw holes of the card guide and chassis are properly aligned for assembly. This problem is aggravated by the fact, noted earlier herein, that each card guide typically requires multiple fasteners for installation. Thus, the configuration and arrangement of typical card guides tends to complicate and impair the installation of the card guide in the chassis.
Yet another problem with conventional card guides and related systems and devices is that, due to the structure and arrangement of the card guide and the associated chassis, it is not always possible to locate screw holes in the locations necessary to ensure proper and secure positioning of the card guide within the chassis, so that less than optimal locations must be selected. Thus, proper positioning of the card guide is compromised, resulting in an unstable and/or misaligned card guide that hampers ready insertion, alignment, and removal of cards. Further, inserted cards may not function properly if they are misaligned within the card cage.
In view of the foregoing discussion, what is needed are card cages and card guides that can be quickly and readily aligned, and securely installed, in an electronic equipment chassis without requiring the use of fasteners. Further, such card cages and card guides should be configured so that they reliably maintain their position within the chassis once installed.